A decade ago Iskritsa Ognianova went to New York to study at the New York Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). This happened because of her great love for the musical and her dream to master the secrets of this art, learning from the best. She graduated in Musical Theater Performance from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) New York after completing a Master’s in International Tourism from the University of Barcelona, Spain. Always eager to learn about all aspects of the arts and culture industry, she joined the nonprofit management graduate program at Columbia University, Ivy League.  For a year the tireless Bulgarian has been managing a company based in the United States. She sees new challenges as a serious creative motivation and is filled with optimism and joy at the achievements. Here's what she told Radio Bulgaria:

“After my work as marketing director and training at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where I was part of the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera, I had the idea of ​​creating my own company. It is called Art Without Borders - New York and is a non-commercial purpose company. The name was given by American playwright David Hwang, one of my mentors, who is part of the board of councilors. We created the company in December 2017. Before that I had gained experience as an art consultant. I had the chance to work at The Nederlander Organization, the second largest American production company and owner of nine of the Broadway theaters, which was also my workplace when I arrived in New York. I was then working at Carnegie Hall as Sales Manager, I was also technical director at the New York Musical Festival, which is America's largest. I invested all this experience in Art Without Borders, whose mission is to inspire students and lecturers through art and cultural experience. The company has been providing opportunities for various artistic activities for both Americans and at international level. We do consultancy work - for example, when it comes to raising funds in cultural institutions at times of crisis. We also create comprehensive funding plans. I was a witness of the bankruptcy of the New York Opera, an institution with 70 years of history. That's what made me realize how important it is to have good managers.“

Art Without Borders provides educational programs for children and young people without age restrictions. Programs are attended by students from Juliard – the most famous art school, as well as from the School of American Ballet. The Master Class in Balanchine Technique is enjoying the greatest interest.

“Departments of cultural tourism in museums and theaters have recently emerged in New York. This is not something new as cultural tourism has existed for a long time. I am a graduate of a very good international tourism college in Bulgaria. In my opinion, when people visit a foreign country, spending time and money to gather cultural experiences, is also cultural tourism. In this case, my idea is to create conditions for cultural tourism and studying musical, which is the trademark of Broadway, as well as ballet and local traditions of placing musicals on stage.”

Currently Iskritsa is working on Study-Abroad Summer Programs. She has been planning to organize summer training in New York for students from Europe to study musical and other arts in combination with foreign languages. In the future she plans to organize summer courses in Spain, Germany and Bulgaria, led by her colleagues from New York. In anticipation of Christmas, the company has organized The Nutcracker Performance Workshop, as well as Series of Signature Broadway Classics, starting with An American in Paris and Christopher Walden's iconic choreography. Famous Robert Fairchild is also among the lecturers in the series and some of the titles included in the program are Chorus Line, 42nd Street and others. Just a few days ago Art Without Borders became a member of the Spanish branch of the American Chamber of Commerce, which would expand the company’s activities.

Iskritsa is also a collaborator at The Arthur Miller Journal, where she had previously worked as an editor. As a journalist, she has interviewed directors and actors who worked with the famous American playwright, as well as other renowned names. She says she would be glad to provide these interviews to Bulgarian media and has been looking for opportunities for that.

English: Alexander Markov